There are more than 6,000 US Special Forces commandos actively operating in 22 African countries. None among the general public has ever known the purpose for the presence of massive US military in Africa, especially commandos. This has led many experts to question if the US Special Forces are indeed colonizing Africa.
A new report published in South African newspaper The Mail and Guardian brings up the issue of massive American military presence in Africa. Just last year, elite U.S. Special Operations forces were functional in 22 African countries. That translates to almost 14 percent of all American commandos deployed overseas.
Officially, the US isn’t planning a war with any African nation. Hence, when U.S. operatives die in Africa, particularly in Niger, Mali or Somalia, the public, and even the media respond by asking “why are American soldiers there in the first place?”
None among the general public has ever known the purpose for the presence of US military, especially commandos. Neither Washington not the African governments publicly acknowledged it. US. Africa Command (AFRICOM) claims that special forces go no further than “AAA” (advise, assist and accompany) missions.
The United States has roughly 6,000 military personnel dispersed throughout the continent, with military attachés outnumbering diplomats in numerous embassies across Africa. The Intercept reported that the military operates 29 bases on the landmass. Among these are what The Hill calls “the largest U.S. Air Force-led construction project of all time.” The formation cost independently was over $100 million, with the operating costs expected to top $280 billion by 2024.
According to Washington the military’s fundamental role in the region is to suppress the rise of extremist troops, including Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, and other al-Qaeda affiliated groups. But, much of the reason for their rise can be traced back to earlier American activities; these comprise the destabilization of Yemen, Somalia, and the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in Libya.
The United States also plays a pivotal role in educating and training the soldiers and security armies of many nations. The US pays Bancroft International, a private military contractor to train elite Somali units. According to The Mail and Guardian, these Somali fighters are also supported by the U.S. taxpayer.
Venezuelan intelligence has crushed a secret plot to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro funded by US billionaires and organised by the former security chief of British billionaire Richard Branson, an ex-Green Beret's private security firm Silvercorp USA.https://t.co/SElY6Y5FVE
— GreatGameIndia (@GreatGameIndia) May 6, 2020
The U.S. government also depleted decades in educating tens of thousands of military and police to employ effective “internal security” at the popular School of the Americas at Fort Benning, GA.
On surface, the idea of training foreign armed forces in basic tactics doesn’t seem fruitful. But such contractors come in handy when you’re planning a coup followed by an invasion to topple the current regime and replace it with a candidate of yours. Such a plot was recently uncovered in Venezuela.
Venezuelan intelligence crushed a secret plot to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro funded by US billionaires and organised by the former security chief of British billionaire Richard Branson, an ex-Green Beret running the private security firm Silvercorp USA, in Florida.
The U.S. military also occupies the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which was previously claimed by the island nation of Mauritius. During the 1960s and 1970s, the British government began expelling the entire local population and sent them in the slums in Mauritius. Surprisingly most of them still live there.
EXCLUSIVE
Iranian Naval Forces to establish Naval Base in Indian Ocean by March 2021 to counter Anglo-American Diego Garcia Base – the key launchpad for western powers in case of an attack on Iran that is beyond the range of Iranian ballistic missiles.https://t.co/R8UamtBbtX
— GreatGameIndia (@GreatGameIndia) June 23, 2020
The United States utilizes the island as its own military base and a station for nuclear weapons. The island has always been important to US, it served as a place critical to American military activities during both Iraq Wars. The Americans also used this Naval base at Diego Garcia to spy on India’s Mission Shakti.
Diego Garcia is the key launchpad for western powers in case of an attack on Iran. In the wake of the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike, Pentagon sent six B-52 strategic bombers to military base on Diego Garcia that is beyond the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles to prepare to hit Tehran if given the order. In response, Iran has announced its intention to establish a permanent Naval Base in the Indian Ocean by March next year to counter Anglo-American base of Diego Garcia.
We urge Indian patriots to find out what the Indian government is doing to get rid off foreign presence in the Indian Ocean, and specifically Diego Garcia. Let us know in the comments below. For those who believe foreign presence is required to protect India may reflect on the Monroe Doctrine.
GreatGameIndia is a journal on Geopolitics and International Relations. Get to know the Geopolitical threats India is facing in our exclusive book India in Cognitive Dissonance.
